Gaussian beam imaging of walkaway VSP data based on finite differences in time domain

The approach to true amplitude seismic imaging for walkaway vertical seismic profile multicomponent data is presented and discussed. This approach is a migration procedure based on weighted summation of pre-stack data. True amplitude weights are computed with application of Gaussian beams. Gaussian beams are computed in time domain via finite-difference modeling. Numerical experiments with synthetic data generated for realistic salt model are presented and discussed.     

Vibration diagnostics of weak base embankments

In this paper the theoretical background was analyzed for vibration diagnostics method and experience in its application for weak base embankments. General schemes of survey and recommendations on hard...     

Centennial-to-millennial fluctuations in July temperatures in North Finland as recorded by timberline tree rings of Scots pine

A tree-ring proxy of summer temperature anomalies for northern Finland for the past 7500 yr was analyzed using Fourier spectrum and wavelet approaches. Multicentennial (250-450 yr) variability is present in the proxy record during most of the time range. This variability is suggested to reflect low-frequency variability in the North Atlantic Oscillation. Century-scale (90-130 yr) variation is another important feature of the tree-ring proxy data during the Holocene and may be attributed to Glessberg solar activity variations. In addition, an approximately 2000-yr quasi-period is found in this temperature proxy data, similar to the millennial-scale variability, present in many climate records from the North Atlantic region. The results point to the importance of multiple forcings underlying significant Holocene climatic fluctuations.     

The origin of hydrous,high-δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O voluminous volcanism: diverse oxygen isotope values and high magmatic water contents within the volcanic record of Klyuchevskoy volcano,Kamchatka, Russia

Klyuchevskoy volcano, in Kamchatka’s subduction zone, is one of the most active arc volcanoes in the world and contains some of the highest δ¹⁸O values for olivines and basalts. We present an oxygen isotope and melt inclusion study of olivine phenocrysts in conjunction with major and trace element analyses of ¹⁴C- and tephrochronologically-dated tephra layers and lavas spanning the eruptive history of Klyuchevskoy. Whole-rock and groundmass analyses of tephra layers and lava samples demonstrate that both high-Mg (7–12.5 wt% MgO) and high-Al (17–19 wt% Al₂O₃, 3–6.5 wt% MgO) basalt and basaltic andesite erupted coevally from the central vent and flank cones. Individual and bulk olivine δ¹⁸O range from normal MORB values of 5.1‰ to values as high as 7.6‰. Likewise, tephra and lava matrix glass have high-δ¹⁸O values of 5.8–8.1‰. High-Al basalts dominate volumetrically in Klyuchevskoy’s volcanic record and are mostly high in δ¹⁸O. High-δ¹⁸O olivines and more normal-δ¹⁸O olivines occur in both high-Mg and high-Al samples. Most olivines in either high-Al or high-Mg basalts are not in oxygen isotopic equilibrium with their host glasses, and Δ¹⁸O_{olivine–glass} values are out of equilibrium by up to 1.5‰. Olivines are also out of Fe–Mg equilibrium with the host glasses, but to a lesser extent. Water concentrations in olivine-hosted melt inclusions from five tephra samples range from 0.4 to 7.1 wt%. Melt inclusion CO₂ concentrations vary from below detection (<50 ppm) to 1,900 ppm. These values indicate depths of crystallization up to ~17 km (5 kbar). The variable H₂O and CO₂ concentrations likely reflect crystallization of olivine and entrapment of inclusions in ascending and degassing magma. Oxygen isotope and Fe–Mg disequilibria together with melt inclusion data indicate that olivine was mixed and recycled between high-Al and high-Mg basaltic melts and cumulates, and Fe–Mg and δ¹⁸O re-equilibration processes were incomplete. Major and trace elements in the variably high-δ¹⁸O olivines suggest a peridotite source for the parental magmas. Voluminous, highest in the world with respect to δ¹⁸O, and hydrous basic volcanism in Klyuchevskoy and other Central Kamchatka depression volcanoes is explained by a model in which the ascending primitive melts that resulted from the hydrous melt fluxing of mantle wedge peridotite, interacted with the shallow high-δ¹⁸O lithospheric mantle that had been extensively hydrated during earlier times when it was part of the Kamchatka forearc. Following accretion of the Eastern Peninsula terrains several million years ago, a trench jump eastward caused the old forearc mantle to be beneath the presently active arc. Variable interaction of ascending flux-melting-derived melts with this older, high-δ¹⁸O lithospheric mantle has produced mafic parental magmas with a spectrum of δ¹⁸O values. Differentiation of the higher δ¹⁸O parental magmas has created the volumetrically dominant high-Al basalt series. Both basalt types incessantly rise and mix between themselves and with variable in δ¹⁸O cumulates within dynamic Klyuchevskoy magma plumbing system, causing biannual eruptions and heterogeneous magma products. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Water dynamics in the western Bering Sea and its impact on chlorophyll a concentration

Ocean Dynamics - To study the water dynamics in the western Bering Sea, the time series of geostrophic velocities derived from satellite altimetry, Global total current (Copernicus Globcurrent)...     

Elastic properties of sands,Part 1: Micro computed tomography image analysis of grain shapes and their relationship with microstructure

Elastic properties of an unconsolidated sand are largely dependent on the elastic properties of its constituent grain and the micro-structure that defines how the grains are arranged within themselves. Coordination number, that is the average number of contacts a grain has with its neighbours, and contact surface area are the two parameters closely related to the microstructure. Moreover, grain shapes and sorting also have substantial influence on these parameters. To calculate these parameters and find any potential relationships with the shape factors, we acquire high-resolution micro computed tomography images of four mechanically compacted unconsolidated dry sand samples that are of different shape factors and sorting indices. After a comprehensive voxel-based data processing, we calculate shape factors such as sphericity and roundness of each grain in all samples. Using own algorithm, we then calculate the coordination number and contact surface area. Results show that samples of well-sorted and higher spherical and rounded grains have higher coordination number and contact surface area than the samples of poorly sorted and lower spherical and rounded grains. Among the poorly sorted samples, coordination number is largely dependent on the fraction of larger grain sizes present in the sample. Inside any given sample, grains of lower sphericity tend to have higher coordination numbers. Moreover, more spherical and rounded grains have greater contact surface area with their neighbours.     

Site classification using equivalent soil profiles for building-liquefaction interaction

The seismic behaviour of a building on a liquefiable deposit is a complex interaction which involves quantifying both shaking induced damage and permanent ground deformation-related damage. In this paper the key parameters that influence both surface shaking and foundation settlements have been identified as the depth, thickness and liquefaction resistance of an equivalent liquefiable layer. These parameters can be used to develop an ‘equivalent soil profile’ that is analogous to the equivalent single degree-of-freedom that reduces the complexity of the dynamic response of a building into comparable and easily understood quantities. The equivalent soil profile is quantified independent of the seismic hazard, making it compatible with performance based design and assessment frameworks such that the building and soil profile can be directly assessed at different levels of seismic hazard. Several numerical studies are presented that demonstrate the influence of these key parameters on the ground surface shaking and foundation settlement. A set of criteria are proposed for classifying soil profiles into 22 different soil classes for regional loss assessment. An algorithm was developed for automatically fitting the equivalent soil profile to a cone penetration test trace and issues with the fitting are discussed. Field reconnaissance was undertaken to collect additional data to support existing datasets on the performance of buildings in Adapazari, during the 1999 Kocaeli, Turkey, earthquake (Mw = 7.4). The field case history data was used to investigate the correlation between the depth, thickness and liquefaction resistance of an equivalent liquefiable layer, on the extent of foundation permanent deformation. The case history data showed that in general a shallow, thick and weak liquefiable layer near the surface results in significant settlement but a lack of data for buildings on non-liquefiable deposits and the additional complexities involved with real buildings and soil deposits, meant that the trends observed in the idealised numerical models could not identified in the field case history data set.

     

Looking into Pulsar Magnetospheres

Diffractive and refractive magnetospheric scintillations may allow direct probing of the plasma inside the pulsar light cylinder. The unusual electrodynamics of the strongly magnetized electron-positron plasma allows separation of the magnetospheric and interstellar scattering. The most distinctive feature of the magnetospheric scintillations is their independence of frequency. Diffractive scattering due to small scale inhomogeneities produces a scattering angle that may be as large as 0.1radians, and a typical decorrelation time of 10^-8 seconds. Refractive scattering due to large scale inhomogeneities is also possible, with atypical angle of 10^-3 radians and a correlation time of the order of10^-4 seconds. Some of the magnetospheric propagation effects may have already been observed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mesoscale dynamics and walleye pollock catches in the Navarin Canyon area of the Bering Sea

Large canyons incise the shelf break of the eastern Bering Sea to be preferred sites of the cross-shelf exchange. The mesoscale eddy activity is particularly strong near the shelf-break canyons. To study the mesoscale dynamics in the Navarin Canyon area of the Bering Sea, the time series of velocities derived from AVISO satellite altimetry between 1993 and 2015, drifters, Argo buoys, and ship-borne data are analyzed. We demonstrate that the strength of anticyclonic eddies along the shelf edge in spring and summer is determined by the wind stress in March–April. The increased southward wind stress in the central Bering Sea forced a supply of low-temperature and low-salinity outer shelf water to the deep basin and formation of the anticyclonic mesoscale circulation seaward of the Navarin Canyon. Enhanced northwestward advection of the Bering Slope Current water leads to increase in an ice-free area in March and April and increased bottom-layer temperature at the outer shelf. The strong (weak) northwestward advection of the eastern Bering Sea waters, determined by eastern winds in spring, creates favorable (unfavorable) conditions for the pollock abundance in the western Navarin Canyon area in summer.